Minnesota Now

The local news landscape is shrinking. On Thursday, the Chaska Herald, Chanhassen Villager and Jordan Independent will print final editions.

On Saturday, Shakopee Valley News, Prior Lake American, Savage Pacer and Southwest will shutter. The group of papers encompasses Southwest News Media. And their sister publications in Hutchinson and Litchfield will also shut down.

The result? A news desert.

And southwest Minnesota isn’t the first. Research by Northwestern University finds that suburbs around the country have seen some of the most dramatic losses of newspapers in recent years.

Amanda McKnight was a reporter at Shakopee Valley News for six years and is currently the communications manager for the city of Shakopee. McKnight joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to discuss the impact of these publications shutting down.

Anoka-Hennepin school board members reached an agreement early Wednesday to avoid a budget showdown over objections raised by one board member about district equity initiatives. 

“The budget needed approval so we can keep the basic, fundamental core operations happening,” said Cory McIntyre, the district superintendent. He said the board agreed to consider equity initiatives separately from the budgeting process.

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  Anoka-Hennepin students Defend diversity measures
  
  

Board treasurer Matt Audette had vowed to vote down the district’s 2024-25 budget. In a Facebook post from April 12, he said he and members Zach Arco and Linda Hoekman could not “in good conscience” vote in favor of a budget that funded culturally responsive teaching, social-emotional learning, restorative justice practices and equity initiatives.

“It is time to put a stop to the spreading of divisive, one-sided views, training and learning that go against the values and beliefs of many families, students and staff in our community,” Audette wrote.

But after meeting more than five hours, McIntyre said board members in the state’s largest school district agreed to “decouple” the budget process from the process of evaluating the policies Audette objected to. Instead they will funnel questions about curriculum, programming and policies through committees dedicated to evaluating them.

“They’re complex topics. They’re not easily solved. That takes more conversation and discussion,” McIntyre said. “I think they have a commitment to do it well, and they’ve kind of, they’ve delinked it or decoupled that from the actual budget that we need to stay open.”

Minnesota districts are required to adopt an annual budget by July 1. Had the members not approved the budget, McIntyre said it’s possible the district would have had to shut down.

“That would be very disruptive, and really a distraction from the kinds of things they want to spend their time on,” McIntyre said. So I think that we got to a better understanding around that by the end of the night. That just takes a lot of dialogue.”

Gardeners—and their parched yards—are looking forward to the rain this weekend. We brought in our resident gardening expert Meg Cowden to share some wisdom, like when to reseed your patchy lawn and how to maximize a small garden space.

Cowden is the author of the book “Plant Grow Harvest Repeat " and founder of the website Seed to Fork and the gardening advice group — Modern Garden Guild.

April showers will continue this weekend, along with the blustery winds that have become characteristic of this spring.

MPR News chief meteorologist Paul Huttner joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer with some wind mileage numbers, rain forecast for later this week and severe weather chances next week.

At the end of May, a Minneapolis kayaker will embark on a journey from the source of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca to the Gulf of Mexico. Devin Brown would be the first Black woman to solo the length of the river.

She’ll be talking about the journey in a panel discussion on Thursday alongside Eddy Harris, an author and adventurer who has paddled the entire river twice. He wrote a memoir called “Mississippi Solo” reflecting on his first trip in the mid-1980s.

Brown and Harris joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer to talk about the upcoming journey from source to sea.

The Minnesota Timberwolves take on the Phoenix Suns Tuesday night in Game 2 of the NBA playoffs. The Wolves won convincingly on Saturday as Alex Rodriguez sat courtside for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.

Rodriguez, the former baseball star, and his business partner Marc Lore, the former CEO of Walmart, are fighting to gain majority control of the team from Glen Taylor after a deal between the three of them fell through. ESPN reports that a mediation session has been set between for May 1.

Wall Street Journal reporters Robert O’Connell and Sarah Nassauer have been following the negotiations. They joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer on Minnesota Now.

Student protests have erupted at the University of Minnesota over the Israel-Hamas war. MPR News talked to an expert about student free speech.

The multigenerational home is gaining traction. We learned about one Winona facility that has the elderly and students living together.

Saturday is national Independent Bookstore Day. Listen for how you can get involved with a special bookstore passport.

The Timberwolves are finally a winning team. They take on the Suns in the second game of the playoffs Tuesday night. In order to stay winning, they owners will have to pay up. But who owns the team is in question..

This Saturday is National Independent Bookstore Day, and small bookstores in the Twin Cities are celebrating in a special way this week.

Rain Taxi, a local literary magazine, is putting on their annual Independent Bookstore Passport. Starting on Wednesday, you can pick up the passport at one of the 28 participating stores.

Each visit earns a stamp, and there are some pretty neat rewards for book lovers. Black Garnet Books in Saint Paul’s Midway neighborhood is one of the participating bookstores. Owner Dionne Sims joined MPR News host Cathy Wurzer ahead of an undoubtedly busy few days.

For more store crawls and events around the state and region — including Moorhead, St. Cloud, Austin, Rochester, Duluth, Grand Rapids and Grand Marais — check out Indie Bound’s list.

The multigenerational home — several generations living together — is increasingly popular. So are residential communities designed to bring multiple generations together.

These intergenerational communities largely exist on the tributaries of the housing market. Yet they are gaining traction.

We’re continuing our conversation on intergenerational living with MPR News’ senior economics contributor Chris Farrell. In his second report, Farrell visited an assisted living center in Winona where younger students not only volunteer there, it’s also where they live.

Students at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus are being urged to walk out of class Tuesday afternoon. An encampment set up was quickly torn down by police on the University mall Tuesday morning. It mirrors encampments at college campuses across the country.

Encampment organizers want the university to sever financial ties with companies that do business with the Israeli military, including Lockheed Martin, Honeywell and General Dynamics.

According to a statement from the university, campus police told those present they were in violation of University policy and state trespassing law, because tents are not allowed on any University property for any purpose without a permit.

Campus police took down the tents and arrested nine students who did not leave. Those students are being held in the Hennepin County Jail.

Students plan to continue protesting the university’s involvement with companies tied to the Israeli military Tuesday afternoon, with a walk-out on campus.

MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke to the University of Minnesota professor Eric Van Wyk. He’s the chair of the Academic Freedom and Tenure Committee, and shed some light on student speech and protest at the University of Minnesota.